DELL Powervault TL2000

Hello pxtian,

So with the TL2000 there is a tape drive in the system and it has 24 slots to hold media in.  Now you say that you are trying to run the Diagnostic utility that you can’t see the drive? What you need to make sure is that you stop your backup software services as with most backup software they put a lock on the drive so that no other program can access the drive while it is in use.  Once you stop the backup services then you should be able to run the diagnostics on the drive from the menu.  

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Hi Sam,

THanks for the quick reply. I am currently troubleshooting a possible hardware problem with the library and tape drive. The diagnostic tool I am using is something I downloaded from IBM's fixcentral site. It's called IBM Tape Diagnostic tool - Graphical edition. Is there something off of the DELL support site that I can use instead? Upon checking from the downloads section using my service tag, I only see the DELL lasso tool and I don't think this applies to the TL2000.

downloads.dell.com/.../Lasso4.7.0.126_IS.msi

Hello pxtian,

ITDT is the correct tool that is used to test the drive. Here is a link to our firmware that has the ITDT tool as well. http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=7C3NR&fileId=3396954581&osCode=WNET&productCode=powervault-tl2000&languageCode=EN&categoryId=TA

Now to use ITDT you have to stop your backup software services then you can launch ITDT. Once ITDT is up you should be able to scan & find the TL2000 and the Tape drive. Once you see the drive you will need to check the box next to the drive & then select the test that you want to run. Now you will also need to make sure that you load a Scratch/ Blank tape into the drive before you run your test as ITDT will not load any media into the drive before running any test.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Awesome suggestion. I will try that once the running job is completed. Although, how will I move the tapes to the drive without a backup running? I know from our ML 6000 that there is a DELL console to use to move tapes around. Does this TL 2000 have a similar feature?

Hello pxtian,

Yes the TL2000 has a web utility. If you plug in an network cable into the management port on the back right side of the unit give it about a minute & it will show you the IP address that it uses. If need be you can change the IP from the front panel. Here is a link to the user’s guide & if you look on page 38 it explains how to setup the web interface. http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/Common/TL2000_TL4000_UG_en-us.pdf

The default username is admin & the default password= secure

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Thanks. I was able to run the diags on the tape properly. However, test, full write and system state on the drive all failed at action "INIT DRIVE" with error code EC A. Can you please advise what I need to do next?

Hello pxtian,

The Error code A is in reference to a degraded operation.  What is normally recommended is that you power cycle the drive & error should clear.  If so then run the test again & see if error returns.  What is the current version of firmware running on the  TL2000 for both the library & the tape drive?

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Hi Sam,

I powercycled the library and ran the test again. It passed the INIT Drive test but failed on the Performance test.

Firmware version:

Tape Library 3573-TL : Firmware version B.20

ULT3580-HH4 : Firmware BBH5 version 1

Hello pxtian,

Can I get you to pull a drive dump log from your tape drive.  You can retrieve the drive dump by using the web utility and going to Service Library MenuSave Drive Dump. You will need to select the drive and then hit the Save Drive Dump button and it will ask you where you want to save the file.  Now it can take up to 20 minutes to get the drive dump.  Once you have the drive dump I will send you a private message that you can upload the logs.  

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

It looks like it is done uploading

AWesome... I am saving the drive dump now. 15 minutes remaining. Will upload to your FTP once done. Thanks!

Hello pxtian,

Looks like there are 2 tapes that the tape drive is having issues with & causing your drive to throw a few errors SAR_FSC_HSARSJR_BAD_HEAD_BACKWARD_WRITE.  How old is your media?  I am also see that the last cleaning tape that was used is really old as well.  Your cleaning tape MFG date 09/30/2010 which is really old as cleaning media is normally good for about 2-3 years or about 50 cleanings then needs to be replaced.  If after you clean the drive with a newer cleaning media & still having errors then it maybe that the drive may need to be replaced.  

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

I am just awaiting delivery of the new cleaning tapes. Will run it once possible and check for recurrence of the problem.

Hello pxtian,

Not a problem as we are still here to assist once you get your cleaning media and are able to test.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Hi Sam,

We have inserted a brand new cleaning tape into the library last April 8. So far, we have not had any failed backups. However, we've had 3 alerts since April 8 saying that the drive is dirty and needs cleaning. The new cleaning tape has had 3 mounts already since it was inserted. On my other servers, it normally takes 2 months before cleaning is required on the drive.

(Server: "SSSSS) (Job: "XXXXXX _FULL-Full") Critical - The tape drive needs cleaning: 1. If the operation has stopped, eject the tape and clean the drive. 2. If the operation has not stopped, wait for it to finish and then clean the drive. Check the tape drive users manual for device specific cleaning instructions. Robotic Library: Robotic library 0001 Drive: Tape drive 0001 Slot: 19